Il viaggio di Capitan Fracassa

In pastel colours of a fairy-tale sort, mostly in mist, Scola weaves his masterful adaptation of the classic of French literature (written by Theophile Gautier in 1861-63), slowly approaching towards the end's magnificent "realistic" twist (which - I dare to say - would not make the author angry). "Il viaggio di Capitan Fracassa" is cinema that cannot offend anyone, full of great emotional(as well as intellectual)pleasures. I found the new French blu-ray with English subtitles great, as well as companion releases of Scola's "La nuit de Varennes", "Splendor", and "Che ora e ?". My only complaint is that Massimo Troisi's voice was dubbed in French.

In the Eighteenth Century, the "Traveling Company of Scenic Arts" composed by Tyrant (Toni Ucci), Lady Leonarde (Lauretta Masiero), Serafina (Ornella Muti), Isabella (Emmanuelle Béart), Leandre (Massimo Wertmüller), Zerbina (Tosca D'Aquino), Matamore (Jean-François Perrier) and Pulcinella (Massimo Troisi) gets lost in the territory of Gascogne while traveling to Paris due to the bad weather. They see a castle and ask to the servant Pietro (Ciccio Ingrassia) to spend the night in the spot expecting to have a comfortable lodging. Sooner they learn that the destroyed castle belongs to the ruined nobleman Jean Luc Henry Camille, the Baron of Sigognac (Vincent Perez). Pietro asks the company to take Sigognac with them to Paris since the father of King Luis XIII had been saved by the baron's father Henrique de Navarra and Luis XIII would certainly reward Sigognac in gratitude. He also secretly gives one hundred gold coins to Pulcinella to serve Sigognac. Along their journey, Sigognac finds love with Serafina and Isabella and learns to love his new friends and the world of theater.

"Il Viaggio di Capitan Fracassa" is the most adorable tribute of the cinema to the theater world. Twenty years ago, when I saw this film for the first time, I felt in love for this gem that has two of the most beautiful European actresses, Ornella Muti and Emmanuelle Béart, in the top of their shapes; Vincent Perez in his best role; Massimo Troisi hilarious; and a magnificent European cast. One of the best and most touching moments is when each actor and actress dreams on what they would do in Paris after meeting Luis XIII. The funniest is certainly when the troupe is waiting for their meal in the tavern. My only negative remark is that Emmanuelle Béart, Vincent Perez and Jean-François Perrier are awfully dubbed in Italian. My vote is ten.

P.S.: I had this film on VHS and last week I bought the shameful DVD released by the Brazilian Distributor Lume Films. The image seems to be a copy of VHS and I was not able to see the last chapters in my Pioneer DVD Player. Only the Samsung DVD player was able to read the last five chapters.

Title (Brazil): "A Viagem do Capitão Tornado" ("The Journey of Captain Tornado")

One of the reviews here is that it is one of the best films of the great Italian director Ettore Scola. I would say more: it's one of the best movies ever. Top 20 in the History of cinema IMHO.

Comedy, drama, romance, history, poetry and literature in one of the most simple and beautiful tributes made to theater and the love of acting. This movie is proof that you can make a great work without much money or production. In fact, simplicity is its greatest virtue.

And as icing on the cake it still allows us to enjoy the stunning beauty of Ornella Muti throughout its projection. 10/10

This movie is one of the best films the great Italian director, Ettore Scola has ever made. It also has a fantastic cast, all doing a great job, but, is seems the late Massimo Troisi does outshine them all, with a stunning performance as Pulcinella, a Sancho Panza sort of clown. This fantasy, dream-like tale, is based on the famous book by the same name by Théophile Gautier, the French author. This is actually the 5th movie adaptation of this novel, which must tell you something about its force to attract generations of film makers.

Vincent Pérez plays Baron of Sigognac, a young royal, whose quest for material wealth brings him true love and revelations on the nature of this world. The plot themes are somewhat related to Stoppard's excellent Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead - both uses the traveling players to explore the nature of the human condition. One might also recall Bergman's Seventh Seal, but Fracassa is more akin of Stoppard's light hearted, witty, approach to those grave subjects.

A truly exceptional, beautiful and entertaining film, a long standing achievement for all involved, surely better than Il Postino, though, sadly, much less known. Surely overdue for re-release?

IMDb should write into their software one little button that says, "If the studio would sell this film, I would BUY IT!" Then, if enough people signed up to buy a film, the studios could produce copies and sell them - or even sell them digitally online.

This excellent period film about the early traveling theatrical troupes of the Renaissance has not been available since its release, and I have been waiting for them to come out with a purchase copy. And it even stars the supreme actor Massimo Troisi, who was better in this than in Il Postino. Now is the time, since the studios can exploit the digital revolution by not having to produce and ship disks.

This is a moneymaker, folks! And with Facebuchenwald and other social networking sites, the number of people wanting to buy might grow exponentially.

So why doesn't IMDb do this?????